On Sunday, Reuters reported that an investigation by the Swiss parliament into the collapse of banking giant Credit Suisse will now see its records classified secret and kept confidential for a period of 50 years, according to a parliamentary committee document.
The report specified that the Swiss Federal Archives will receive the files on the case from the investigating committee after longer than the customary 30 years to assure confidentiality in the case, which involves actions and decision-making by the Swiss government, the financial regulator, and the central bank, as Credit Suisse gradually declined, and eventually had to be taken over.
The Swiss Society for History has raised concerns over this, with president Sacha Zala writing a letter to the commission noting that, “Should researchers want to scientifically investigate the 2023 banking crisis, access to the CS files would be invaluable.”
At the first meeting of the committee in Bern last week, Reuters noted, it stated that “all persons participating in the meetings and the questioning are subject to the duty of secrecy, not only the members of the commission, but also the interviewees themselves.”
It went on to warn that, “indiscretions complicate the work or damage the credibility of the commission and can have negative consequences for the Swiss financial center.”
Credit Suisse had been laboring under a string of scandals, regulatory failures, legal issues, and growing customer outflows over the past few years. The bank reported in 2022 that it had suffered a net loss of 7.3 billion francs ($8.5 billion).
In March the bank’s biggest investor, Saudi National Bank, stated publicly that it would be unable to financially assist the bank due to regulatory and statutory limits.
Later that month, as the crisis worsened, the Swiss government stepped in and brokered an acquisition for the bank by its larger rival UBS, for the equivalent of $3.25 billion in a government brokered deal. It was the largest financial merger since the 2008 financial crisis, and came amid increasing fears following the failures of several US banks, that the crisis in the banking sector could accelerate, if depositors got spooked, and all began drawing down their deposits.
The acquisition marked the end of a 167-year history for Credit Suisse, and tarnished Switzerland’s reputation as a reliably stable global financial center.
